No Fuss Gus
Born to a middle class family in Paris, Gustave Moreau was a visionary symbolist painter who found his love for the arts on a trip to Italy when he was 15. He is most notably known for his depictions of mythological figures and religious subjects that he would portray in an erotic way. Moreau’s mentor, Théodore Chassériau, would be the only influence on his development as a painter. Moreau’s art style would run contrast to the french conventions of the time, Realism and Naturalism as Moreau’s emphasis was on that of the imagination.
Oedipus and the Sphinx is Moreau’s interpretation of the scene from the story of Oedipus. The painting displays one of Moreau’s great inspirations, that of the old style of the Renaissance. This painting marked the turning point of Moreau’s rejection of Realism and Naturalism.
A year later Moreau would still draw inspiration from Greek mythology. This time with the legendary musician, Orpheus, in Metamorphoses. This painting would become important in forming key aspects of symbolist aesthetic. Namely, the depiction of a decapitated head and the femme fatale.
The Apparition epitomizes the symbolist obsession with the story of John the Baptist. Moreau depicts the scene when Princess Salome dances provocatively for her father, King Herod, to win John’s head for her mother. We see again the imagery of the disembodied head and the main female subject.
La chimère is a painting of a series of paintings depicting nude women with various classical mythological creatures. Moreau believed the internal, primitive nature of women to be captured by and capturers of their dreams, or imaginations.
The Sacred Elephant demonstrates Moreau’s second great inspiration, Exoticism. Although it is unclear what mythology Moreau was trying to refer to in this painting, the influence of asian art is unambiguous.
Elements of South Asian, South East Asian, and East Asian art is explicit in Moreau’s work. I can appreciate that he used these elements and mixed them with his imagination and western mythologies to inform his personal painting style.
Honorable Mention
Odilon Redon
Henri Rousseau
Dallas,
Excellent work on your posts of de la Tour, Blake, and Moreau. What I like about your approach is you have your research down solid then you let your own feelings and thoughts riff along with your analysis of the paintings you look at. That’s what I’m looking for.
Jeff